Water-curable, silane modified alkylene-alkyl acrylate copolymers and a process for the preparation thereof by reacting a mixture containing an alkylene-alkyl acrylate copolymer and a monomeric silane or a polysiloxane are described in detail in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,136 and in my copending application Ser. No. 192,319 filed Sept. 30, 1980 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,323, respectively, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The silane modified alkylene-alkyl acrylate copolymers can be extruded about electrical conductors such as wire and cable, and if so desired water-cured to crosslinked products, providing insulation or jacketing thereon of excellent quality.
It is customary, prior to extruding the water-curable, silane modified alkylene-alkyl acrylate copolymers about electrical conductors, to add thereto various additives for the purpose of modifying and enhancing the ultimate properties of the coating, i.e., insulation or jacketing, such as flame retardancy, oil resistance, toughness and the like. Obviously, the modification of the water-curable, silane modified alkylene-alkyl acrylate copolymers by the addition thereto of various additives requires an additional processing step with an attendant increase in the overall cost of producing extruded articles.